


In Good Company

by frankie_mcstein



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Fluff, Gen, MI6 wants higgy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, business partners for life, shameless fluff, these two idiots will be the death of me, they can't have her, voice-overs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 00:36:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20921270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frankie_mcstein/pseuds/frankie_mcstein
Summary: "She's been gone over a week. At this point, I'm pretty much convinced that she isn't gonna be coming back."Spoiler alert- she comes back





	In Good Company

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober has been intense. And some of the fills yet to come are pretty heavy. So, here, have some fluff.

She’s been gone for over a week. At this point, I’m pretty much convinced that she isn’t gonna be coming back. London was her home, MI6 was her family, and Hawaii and my ohana were just... a temporary refuge. She needed somewhere to hide from her pain, people she could depend on, and this island, us, we gave her that. But now? I dunno. A week is a long time to be thinking about how to phrase the word ‘No.’

…

When Magnum pulled up to see two strange cars parked on the drive, his first thought was that some potential clients had turned up and that Kumu had let them in. But then he spotted the two men standing awkwardly by the front door. Their suits had the look of tailor-made expense. The bulge of the shoulder holsters they were wearing was almost impossible to pick out. And the coil of plastic falling from their ears drew attention to their earpieces in a way that he’d only seen in movies before.

Before he’d even gotten out of the Ferrari, Magnum had bet himself they were from the Executive Protection Unit and that he was going to walk in to find Robin had flown in and was entertaining the governor. If these guys let him walk in at all, anyway. Even with their eyes hidden behind the cliche shades, Magnum could see they were sizing him up.

Like a lot of things- his bank balance, his almost empty fuel tank, his actually empty fridge- Magnum decided the best way to deal with these guys was to ignore them. He strolled up to the front door, turned slightly sideways to slip between the two men who absolutely did not move out of his way at all, and walked on into the main building.

And heard Higgins talking in a tone he instantly recognized as her ‘You’re Annoying Me But I’m Trying To Be Polite’ voice. He hurried through to the study where, sure enough, Higgins was standing, arms crossed and legs wide, body language screaming her aggravation. Her head tipped to one side as she said, “Frankly, I’m surprised that you didn’t see it coming. Especially as you have continually gone out of your way to assure me of your intelligence.”

Magnum grinned a little; awful as it could be to be on the receiving end of her ire, it was fun to see her attacking someone else.

The ‘someone else’ in this case was a man who looked, at first glance, to be several years older than Magnum himself. His figure spoke of a powerful body gone slightly to seed, and Magnum got the distinct impression that this was a man who was used to getting what he wanted.

“I’m just saying that we’re all a little shocked, Juliet.” His plummy voice made Magnum frown. Whatever the two were discussing, this man clearly wanted Higgins to do something that she had no intention of doing.

“Afternoon,” Magnum called as he stepped fully into the room. He grinned as Higgins and Someone Else both turned to him. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

…

Now, I know what you’re thinking; walking into an argument that had nothing to do with me was kinda rude. And interrupting with some unimaginative comment about the weather? Well, you’re probably thinking that was dumb. And you’d be right. But, in my defense, I was kinda shocked to see Higgins standing in front of me. And I was kinda angry at the guy, whoever he was, for trying to manipulate her.

I know, I know, Higgins and I have had this conversation more than once; she doesn’t do things she doesn’t want to do. But this guy was clearly hoping to get something from her. Call me overprotective, but I really didn’t like that.

…

“Magnum?” There was a small smile on Higgins’ face, one that Magnum recognized; she was genuinely happy to see him. Someone Else looked put out, and that made Magnum’s grin wider.

“Not gonna lie, Higgy,” and he dropped the nickname very deliberately and with a lot of joy as he saw Someone Else wince slightly at the familiarity, “I wasn’t expecting you to come back.” 

Her smile faded at that and her lips pressed together in a display of discomfort that looked out of place on her. “I’m sorry about that.” She sounded sincere. “Things got a little… complicated.” And her eyes cut across to Someone Else before rolling a little.

Magnum grinned again, feeling better and better about the situation. He opened his mouth to say something, wanting to make a joke about people not being able to take a hint, but Someone Else beat him to it.

“I have to say, Juliet, I really don’t think the situation is all that complicated at all. We want you back, and we’re willing to be very generous with our offer.” He smiled, looking smug and self-satisfied, like the promise of his generosity was something wonderful and precious. He looked at Magnum for a brief second before giving a quiet sniff of disdain. “Obviously your prospects here are far more limited than you had led us to believe. But I will personally see to it that you are afforded every benefit outlined in our most recent offer.”

Higgins took a deep breath, and Magnum saw the flash of very real anger in her eyes before she smothered it. “Look, Mr. Hartley,” and there was a kind of stress on the honorific that somehow made it sound like an insult. “I said before that I was flattered, and I meant it. But I also said that I won’t be returning to England, and I meant that too.” 

…

It might have been bad form, but I didn’t even try to hide my smile. I had no idea if Higgins was planning on becoming my partner, but she wasn’t leaving the island; it was the best news I’d heard in days. 

I did have to wonder about this Mr. Hartley though. He was obviously pretty high up in the MI6 hierarchy, and I doubted his job description included crossing multiple time zones to try to win over a reluctant asset. Which begged the question, why had he followed Higgins all the way here? And what was it going to take to get him to leave? I had half a mind to slip out of the room and find the dogs to see if I couldn’t lead them back to the study.

…

“You have to understand, when I lost Richard, I didn’t just lose my fiance. I lost my job and my home and my family. And I didn’t think I would ever have the opportunity to get those things back. But now I do. And they aren’t in London anymore.”

Higgins sounded so definite, so absolutely certain of herself and her place in this new ohana of hers, that Magnum felt his triumphant grin soften into something gentle and genuine. She met his eyes and returned his smile with one of her own.

“I’m just sorry it took me so long to figure that out.” She looked away, taking in the somewhat crestfallen look on Mr. Hartley’s face. “I’m sorry, Edward.” The conciliatory tone didn’t seem to help at all. “I really do appreciate everything you did for me while I was working with you. And everything you’re trying to do for me now. But I have everything I need, everything I want, right here.”

To Magnum’s surprise, Mr. Hartley’s face softened, even as he shook his head.

“You always were stubborn.” 

It was said with such affection that Magnum felt his entire assessment of this man shift; anyone who cared so deeply for Juliet couldn’t be all bad. He stood back and watched quietly as Higgins walked to the door, arm-in-arm with Edward. It was painfully obvious that, despite what she said, Higgins was leaving far more behind in England than a few bad memories.

Magnum moved to the chair, toying idly with Higgins’ laptop, giving the pair some semblance of privacy. When he realized she had changed her password, his eyes started traveling over her desk, looking for something interesting to fiddle with. So, when Higgins walked back in, she found him sitting in her computer chair and holding her P.I. license.

He looked at her with something close to shock on his face. “When did you get this?”

“It was waiting for me when I landed. I, uh, didn’t want to say anything before it came through, in case there were any holdups.” She watched as Magnum put her license on the table, then pulled his wallet out and removed his own P.I. license, laying it on the table to the right of hers.

“Higgins and Magnum, Private Investigations,” he said, looking up at her with a grin.

She shook her head and reached past him to snag his license and move it to the left. “No,” she said, and her own smile lit up her entire face. “Magnum and Higgins.”

**Author's Note:**

> I feel bad for all the bad-ness I put these lovely fictional people through. And the worst is yet to come. They deserve something fluffy and soft for a change.


End file.
